Night Monsters
by CretianStar
Summary: Had Rapunzel ever explored the cove outside her tower? The grass and the stream. Well maybe she had... and maybe the monsters scared her.


A/N: I always wondered why Rapunzel was never allowed out of her tower, even to the little cove her tower is in… so I made a back story for it.

There's going to be typos, so apologies!

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Rapunzel hadn't always been shut up in the same walls, the same pictures and the same view out of the same balcony.

Once upon a time, Mother had let her touch the grass and play in the stream. Mother had supervised of course, with the strict restriction that she wasn't allowed past the vine curtain. But ten year old girls were curious, and Rapunzel loved to learn.

So Mother Gothel watched her charge with a wary eye while the girl splashed water into the air and rolled in the grass. It carried on in this fashion, with Rapunzel learning her alphabet in the sunshine, on the grass blowing dandelion seeds at the birds.

Then Rapunzel became curious again, she wandered close to the curtain, Mother Gothel no longer watching her as viciously as normal. She was in fact enjoying a rare moment of relaxation for herself and had her eyes closed, basking in the sun. Then she heard a twig snap and her eyes were open in a heartbeat. There Rapunzel was lifting the green curtain.

"Rapunzel!" She screamed. "What have I told you?!" The little girl started to cry and Gothel took a moment to calm her anxiety; she knew after using the flower for so long, her aged body would not last long without it if it was taken away from her. Steeling herself, she bent to look at the blonde girl in the eye. "What have I told you?"

"I'm sorry Mama!" She rubbed one teary eye.

"People will hurt you for your magic hair Rapunzel!" She held the girl's hands a little too hard and another tear rolled down her cheek. "I will forgive you this time. But do not go anywhere near the curtain again." Rapunzel nodded and Gothel let her go off again, pushing her towards the stream once more.

For a while Rapunzel was good, she stayed well away from the green curtain; enjoying the waterfall as the summer heated her little world. Her mother always played the game of count the stairs when it was time to go in, always made better when you closed your eyes, or they used the rope over the balcony hook when Gothel wanted to teach Rapunzel how to climb. But as the summer nights lengthened and Gothel believed Rapunzel wasn't going to disobey her, Gothel would spend time tidying the tower while her charge would play in the sunshine. Then as Gothel looked out of the window she saw Rapunzel lifting up the green curtain again. Narrowing her eyes and opening her mouth to yell at her wayward daughter Gothel, closed her lips once more and they stretched into a narrow smile. That girl was too curious for her own good. She carried on watching surreptitiously as the vines were lifted a little higher.

"Rapunzel! Dinner time!" She called sweetly and watched the girl jump back before running towards the tower.

"Coming Mother!" Rapunzel sounded nervous and Gothel moved into full view of the window as Rapunzel heaved up the rope.

"Did you have a nice time?" Gothel smiled innocently at the girl who blushed and rearranged her drawing stuff, gabbling excuses. They sat for dinner and Gothel suggested sitting out in the dark, watching the stars like they normally did which Rapunzel beamed at. The girl loved the stars.

It all started out innocently until Rapunzel became so caught up in mapping the constellations with her fingers that she never noticed her mother had vanished.

"Mother?" She called, her eyes squinting against the blackness. She could only hear the water rushing behind her but now it didn't sound so nice; it just sounded scary. Still desperately searching for the shadow of her mother, her eyes made out the curtain moving. Mouth forming an 'o' Rapunzel ran for the rope but it had gone. "Mother!" She started to scream as the figure crept towards her. It was big and bulky. Dark against the stars, it was hooded and loomed towards her. Throwing rocks at it blindly Rapunzel ran around the tower and hid against a bush. Sucking in air to stop herself from crying she heard the footsteps and squeezed her eyes shut.

"Rapunzel! Are you okay?"

"Mother." She sobbed as the arms wrapped around her.

"The bad man has gone now. Hush my flower, it is okay petal." Gothel stroked the long blonde hair and picked up the girl once more. "It's okay petal, I'm here, Mother's got you. You keep your eyes nice and shut tight so the dark can't hurt you anymore." Rapunzel complied with her mother's orders as she climbed the steps to her bedroom. "Open them flower."

When Rapunzel did there was the flickering candle nightlight, and there was her teddy bear and Rapunzel smiled, eyes watering still. Gothel wiped them away.

"Nasty men are beyond the curtain Rapunzel, we cannot let them know we are here." Rapunzel thought of her earlier attempt to look past the curtain and shuffled amongst her bed clothes.

"Yes Mama." The little girl nodded.

"Get some sleep flower, I will protect you, the night monsters cannot get you in the tower, maybe you shouldn't go outside anymore." Gothel kissed Rapunzel's hair and slipped out of the room. Staring at her cloak, over a chair, she untacked the pillows from beneath the fabric and hung the dark material on the peg before heading to her own bedroom. Checking on Rapunzel once more, the girl asleep but murmuring into her teddy bear, Gothel sighed.

'That was close.' She thought to herself, looking out of her own window at the stars. 'That should work for a while.'


End file.
